This is the first time
a hospital here has allowed a large medical bill to be broken up into
interest-free monthly instalment payments over such a long period.

The amount? A whopping $130,000 - to treat and manage the boy's meningitis.

De Keat came down with fever on June 21 this year.

His
mother, housewife Koh Tat Hong, 34, said: "He was seen by the family
physician near our home, but when he vomited and complained of a neck
ache the next day, we took him to the emergency room at KKH."

The boy was given stronger medication and sent home, but his temperature continued to rise.

"It
was hovering at 39.9 and 40 degrees (Celsius) and he was given a
suppository. But that helped only for a while," Madam Koh said.

"Doctors said he had developed meningitis and it was causing his fits," his mother recalled, eyes brimming with tears.

De
Keat underwent three operations to relieve the pressure in his skull
and had a shunt installed to drain excess water from his brain.

He was in ICU for 24 days and was warded in the hospital for a total of 50 days.

"When
we were handed the bill and told to settle $30,000 first, we were
shocked. How could we afford to pay? We couldn't even afford to settle
the first $30,000 let alone the full bill," Madam Koh said.

She and her husband Ting Kok Ing, 36, a container truck driver, are Malaysians living here.

"He gets paid on consignments and makes about $1,000 a month to support the family," she said.

The Tings have a younger son, who is being looked after by Madam Koh's mother in Malaysia.

To
help the Tings with the bill and follow-up treatment for De Keat, a
medical social worker at KKH approached several charitable
organisations.

But when none of them replied, the couple approached MP K. Shanmugam.

Mr
Shanmugam, who represents Nee Soon GRC, wrote a letter to the hospital
on behalf of the Tings, appealing for its understanding.

If boy were Singaporean...

Mr
Shanmugam, who is also the Law and Foreign Minister, told The New Paper
that if the boy were a Singapore citizen, it would have been easier to
help.